Morgan Davis proudly makes her mark at OSU | Bouquets and Brickbats

Konner Barr, rising fourth-year student and Morgan Davis, rising third-year student of The Ohio State University, are the new drum majors of the university’s 2018 marching band. Davis is a former Elyria Pioneer and earned the position as the band’s assistant drum major.
Submitted photo - Morgan Davis

BOUQUETS >> To Morgan Davis, a former Elyria High School Pioneer who has made her mark at The Ohio State University becoming the first African American to have a drum major role at the historic institution.

Davis, 20, also is the fourth female at OSU to hold either the assistant or drum major positions.

The third-year sociology and political science student is one of two members selected as drum majors for college’s 2018 marching band.

What made her selection even sweeter was her parents, Darlene and Michael Davis of Elyria, were in attendance at her tryout.

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Davis said, “When my name was called, I remember looking at my mom and saw her crying. She was so proud; it was awesome.”

Davis was on the drum major training squad for her first two years at OSU and was responsible for helping the drum majors or filling in any missing positions.

We congratulate Davis on her milestone and look forward to her performing and leading the traditional lining in the script of “Ohio” in Ohio Stadium.

BOUQUETS >> To the students at Avon Heritage South Elementary School who were rewarded in April for the money they raised to help those with autism.

Heritage Elementary secured $3,700 and the Avon Local School District earned $10,686.

This was the second year the students at Heritage raised money for autism awareness.

For their deeds, they were treated with an outdoor assembly that included tossing pies into the faces of teachers, a dunk tank and sumo wrestling suits.

Jessica Stringer, counselor at Heritage and coordinator for the autism awareness collection at the school, said, “The assembly is a great way to close out Autism Awareness Month. The donations and collections have been going on since the beginning of the month, and everyone involved did a great job.”

Milestones Autism Resources, a local nonprofit, will receive the funds.

Good job, students.

BRICKBATS >> To Darius Ramey, the 18-year-old Lorain man who was sentenced April 27 to 21 years in prison for the shooting death of Kenneth Shinafelt, 31.

Ramey was a juvenile when he was charged with murder for the July 11, 2016, shooting on Lorain’s west side.

His plea and sentencing was part of an agreement between prosecutors and defense attorney Michael Kinlin that saw Ramey plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Ramey cannot seek judicial release and his appellate rights are limited to issues of ineffective counsel or prosecutorial misconduct.

What was unusual about this case is Ramey never apologized to the victim’s family for the killing and Lorain County Common Pleas Court John R. Miraldi understandably was not pleased.

Ramey never showed any remorse and the judge said that concerned him.

Miraldi said, “I’m not going to force you to apologize, but I’m worried about a young man who’s going to prison for 21 years and doesn’t have the guts to say, ‘I’m sorry to this family.’”

Kinlin read a prepared statement saying Ramey regrets the killing and that he had felt threatened when he shot and killed Shinafelt.

The bottom line: Ramey should have had the decency to apologize.

BRICKBATS >> To Roderick B. Cross Jr., 26, of Elyria, who will spend three years behind bars for kidnapping a 22-year-old woman and her toddler son on Christmas 2016.

Cross pleaded guilty to three counts of kidnapping, two counts of weapons under disability and single counts of improper handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and domestic violence.

Elyria police Capt. Christopher Costantino said officers located the victim and her 2-year-old son in the 200 block of Bath Street just before 10 p.m., Dec. 25, 2016.

Cross threatened to shoot the woman, ordered her into his Jeep Cherokee and sped off as she attempted to get out, all while she was holding her son.

When the woman successfully jumped from the moving Jeep with her son in her arms, Cross punched her in the face and pulled her hair until she got back in the vehicle.

Cross brandished a handgun and threatened to kill the woman if she didn’t re-enter the Jeep. He even fired a round into the back seat.

Eventually, the woman jumped out of the Jeep near Lake Avenue and Rush Street, and managed to get away when the open door got stuck on a chain link fence.